1000000
by Verdancy of the Green
Summary: Luke happened to meet Asch one day. Turns out they were twins adopted by different families. They decide to get to know each other. They tell their friends, but not their families. Why make the situation any more complicated? It still gets complicated.
1. Prologue

**Um… well, I got TOA and I was playing it and this big, random fanfic idea popped into my head. All I know is that it's gonna be complicated. So bear with me. Please.**

"Hey, Luke, that new employee's coming today."

Luke looked up at his co-worker and took off his glasses; blinking a few times to clear up the sudden strain on his eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

He threw up his arms and cheered.

"Yes! He kept his promise!"

His fellow employee stared at him worriedly. Granted, Luke was always a bit out of it, but this was new.

"You know who it is?"

Luke smiled broadly at him.

"Asch emailed me about a month ago, saying he was trying to get this job. I can't believe he pulled it off!"

He cheered again and accidently hit the keyboard, causing a string of unrelated text to appear.

"Dammit, call me again when he's here, okay?" he asked, putting his glasses back on and undoing the damage.

"Um… Got it."

Luke smiled as the other left. After years of waiting, they'd finally pulled it off. His mind drifted to the past. Before they made a promise, before all of the catastrophe that had happened with Mieu, and all the way to when they had first met.

Asch had been right. It really had been a one in a million chance.

**And I guess I'm done with the prologue….**


	2. Chapter 1

**New chapter. Oh, and if Luke's personality is a weird mix of douchebag/post-douchebag, sorry, the OOC is due to a little plot quirk. I had to mix around their ages too… Asch/Luke/Tear/Natalia are sophomores. Guy is a junior. Ion/Sync/Anise/Arietta are freshmen. Legretta is a senior. Van and Jade are teachers. Largo is Natalia's father. King Ingobert is the school principle. **

**(Note: Guy is a childhood friend in this story, not a brother.)**

When the two were old enough, their adoptive parents decided to tell them about the twin they had been separated from at birth. One was quite excited by the idea and one wondered why his parents would tell him about someone he'd probably never meet. He kept that bit of information tucked away though, just in case in came in handy. You never know. If the day did come and they met, at least he wouldn't look all surprised and act like an idiot.

That day they were both late going home. Luke had club activities and Asch was coming back from his part time job. The weather had taken a turn for the worst (just like the forecast had predicted), and was threatening to escalate into nothing short of a tropical storm. Asch was well prepared and armed with a large and sturdy umbrella. Luke, on the other hand, not so much. The quaint little downtown was filled with people all crowded under canvas store awnings, trying to stay dry. Luke had been jostled and shoved out of the dry area into a large puddle.

He groaned at how his clothes were all soaked in the dank water and checked to see if his phone and music player were still working. Asch paused as he saw a boy his age fumbling around in a puddle. Usually he would've just ignored him, but today he felt a pang of sudden pity and walked over.

"Do you need help?"

Luke was still checking his stuff.

"No, I'm fi-"

The two stared at each other, each of them unable to break their gaze; at a loss for words. Luke slowly got to his feet. The pouring rain had completely soaked him and water even dripped from his eyelashes. The way he regarded Asch it was almost as if he doubted his existence.

"My twin," He said uncertainly. His expression slowly changed and brightened.

"I can't believe I found you!"

Meanwhile, Asch had no idea what _the hell_ to do. No one needed to state the obvious to him, but anyone in his position would be a little flustered. Besides, his twin was a bit creepy, smiling at him like that. You just didn't act so happy towards a stranger. The stupid, one in a million chance had happened. He should go get lottery tickets while it was still today.

"… You're getting wet. Share my umbrella."

"Thank you," he said as he ducked under and besides Asch, "I'm Luke by the way."

"Asch."

How much more stupid could he have gotten? Now they were in close proximity with a very, _veery_ sensitive topic to pick apart. Luke shook his backpack to get rid of some excess water.

"Wow, you look just like me. I actually, kind of feel sick."

"It's probably just the shock. At least we wear out hair differently. Your hair is a bit lighter color than mine too."

Luke looked over Asch's slicked back bangs and suddenly felt very conscious of his own hair that stuck out everywhere. The strange thing was that they both wore their hair long. Granted it wasn't that unpopular of a style, but maybe… No that would be too much of a coincidence.

"Hey, Asch?"

"What?"

"What're we going to do now? I mean, we can't just disappear on each other."

Asch frowned.

"Of course we aren't!"

Luke jumped at Asch's vehement retort.

"I figured that we'd never meet, but now that we have, of course we can't just go our separate ways! This is probably the only time we're going to meet by accident. Leave now and it won't happen ever again."

"I know! But… I don't think we should tell our parents…"

Asch sighed. This was no conversation to be having outside in the rain.

"Let's find some place to hide out first. People are starting to stare."

"Yeah, I can tell."

They both squeezed into a small coffee shop and sighed. It was a busier than usual due to the rain, but Asch managed to snag some seats by the plate glass window.

"Wow, it smells good in here," Luke commented.

Asch sniffed the air. It was bitter-sweet and not at all unpleasant.

"You're right. I don't go here too often."

He sighed. They needed to stay on topic. He was sighing a lot today.

"Anyways, I agree that we shouldn't tell out families unless it's absolutely necessary. What about your friends?"

"What about yours?"

"I don't have any."

"… You sound so anti-social."

"Shut up. Will you tell your friends?"

Luke mulled over the question.

"I guess, my friends would find out eventually no matter what. Might as well tell them now."

"It's easier to hide me from your parents than from your friends?"

Luke nodded.

"If I tell them it's going to be such a pain and they'll want to meet you and they'll be all judgmental… Better to keep it between friends."

They both shifted awkwardly in their seats.

"I-I had club activities today! You?"

"Oh, me? It was, um, a part time job."

"Lucky! I suck at managing time and my parents make me take all these extra classes so I'll only be able to get a job during the summer," he whined.

"That's no good; try to find a job that you can fit in."

"That's going to be hard."

"Just try."

The shop was fairly empty with light chatter. The warmth was beginning to dry out Luke's clothes. Again, the conversation turned silent.

"Er, I'll get us something to drink, what do you want?"

"Just coffee."

"O-okay."

Luke meandered through the crowd and into the line. Asch was annoyed at how… simple Luke was. His clothes and backpack were good quality he could tell due to how well they shed water. The music player and phone didn't look cheap either. He must've been adopted into some well-off family. Pity the same couldn't have happened to him.

"I'm back."

He set the paper cup in front of Asch and sipped his own hot cocoa. A flash of lightening momentarily blinded them both and the loud peal of thunder that followed made Luke's hands shake. The lights abruptly snapped off. The whole rows of shops on the street were thrown into darkness. The rain was now followed with copious amounts of hail. They clicked off the glass and hit the roof with sharp staccatos.

"I think we're stuck here for a while," Luke said.

"I can see that," Asch growled.

Luke seemed to shrink back and Asch felt guilty.

"Sorry."

"No! It's not you; the weather's just a bit frightening."

"Let me guess, you're afraid of the dark too."

"Don't have to be so mean…"

Asch had a feeling they were going to be stuck here for a very long and infuriating amount of time.

-0-0-0-

"Let's start our homework."

Asch nodded. Just sitting in silence was no fun at all. They both pulled out their organizers and stared at each other. They each had a Lanvaldear High school-issued organizer.

"Okay, let's take a deep breath and think about this logically," Luke said quickly, "You don't have any friends at school and I don't hang out with you, so-"

"-Of course we didn't know we went to the same school," Asch finished.

They both looked away in relief. How many more freaky coincidences were going to happen?

Doing homework helped them both settle into a more pleasant rhythm. Luke even managed to get internet on his phone (somehow by pulling off a miracle caused by the sheer awesomeness of a fontech trick Guy had taught him) and found some online textbooks. He shared with Asch and they began to be less wary of each other's presence. Asch was less hostile and Luke was less jumpy.

"Aaaaaasch. I need your help."

"Again?"

"Do you know anything about fontech? Guy's not here."

"A little, and who's Guy?"

"A friend. I need to answer questions about fontech and it needs another person's opinion."

"Okay. What subject?"

"Ispanian."

"That's a strange topic for Ispanian class."

"We're reading a book called _Replica, _and there's fomicry. The fontech is just part of the fomicry stuff. It's about a replica made from someone who's still alive. So far the book has the two of them meeting each other. The replica doesn't know he's a copy and the original hates him a lot. There's a lot of tension. And get this. Our chemistry teacher Mr. Curtiss wrote it."

"He's only in his thirties."

"He wrote it when he was nine, _after _creating fomicry."

"Well, he's a genius. And I thought everyone knew that. The novel turned into an instant classic."

"Wasn't a game made that was loosely based on the story? It was… Tales of the Abyss, right?"

Asch was quiet for a few moments.

"Yeah. Anyway, just tell me the questions."

"Got it."

Luke downed his hot cocoa while Asch barely sipped his coffee. To him, this wasn't so bad. It was actually… kind of peaceful.

"What club were you late for?"

"It was the astronomy club."

Asch laughed.

"You just look up at the sky?"

Luke shook his head.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not interested in the stars. It's the fon belt. It's always been there." He paused to try to see it among the thunderclouds, and then gave up.

"You know, when I was little I though the fon belt was pieces of glass in the sky."

"You're a dreamer, aren't you?"

"What?"

Asch gave Luke a look that seemed to be suspiciously like pity.

"I bet you think of all sorts of different hopes for the future and you sincerely believe that there's a chance for all of them to come true."

A faint smile, a slight darkening of the eyes, something like tranquility- that was all Asch caught as Luke replied.

"Of course I don't. It's impossible for all of someone's dreams to come true. Even I know that. Dreaming's just nice to do."

-0-0-0-

The hail had stopped, but no one was willing to go outside right now. Asch frowned and whipped out his phone.

"Who're you calling?"

"My mom, to ask her to pick me up. Do you have a ride?"

For the second time that day, Luke shook his head. Ash glanced outside and winced.

"You're going to walk home in _that_? Don't you have a ride?"

Luke shook his head.

"Mom and Dad are really busy."

"Hmm. I see. Oh, hey mom. Can you pick me up? I'm stuck at that coffee shop downtown. Thanks."

He snapped the phone shut and let out a relieved breath.

"My mom can come pick me up. What're you gonna do?"

"Walk."

Asch turned to slowly face the window. The weather seemed to laugh in Luke's face and began to pelt the window like bullets. Luke almost wished that it was still hailing. At least he wouldn't get as wet. Asch said noting and handed Luke his umbrella.

"Take it."

"Ah, I'll give it back at school. You should sit with us for lunch."

"Tell me where you guys sit."

"You know the hallway with that really big drama poster right now? We're sitting there."

"Got it."

Luke stood up and felt all eyes in the shop on him. Asch mouthed 'good luck' and also watched as Luke went out the door and opened the umbrella. Right on cue, the biting wind flipped the entire thing and Luke yelped. He quickly fixed it and ran for his life.

-0-0-0-

He barreled through the door and quickly shoved it closed once he was in. He groaned and threw his backpack and keys on the ground.

"Master! You're back!"

"Aw, shut up Mieu!"

The little cheagle whimpered and scampered off.

"Ah, wait! Mieu! I'm sorry!"

He groaned and twisted his hair like a towel to remove at least some of the water. It splashed onto the floor and he didn't bother to clean it up. If anyone slipped on that later he'd own up to it, but right now he really didn't want to do anything. Luke dragged himself up the stairs and plopped into his room with a soppy noise. He changed into a nice warm sweater and a dry pair of jeans then hugged himself to get some warmth back into his body. That was much better.

As he went back downstairs with renewed vigor, he felt guilty about Mieu. Maybe he'd share some of his quiche with Mieu for dinner. He opened the fridge and for the hundredth time thanked all the powers in the universe for giving him an adopted dad who could cook yummy food. The last time he tried anything, the house almost burnt down. Granted, Natalia had concocted food that could kill whales, so he was also thankful in a way that he didn't suck as much as her. Tear's cakes on the other hand… He shook his head and wiped the drool from his mouth. Right now it was time to eat dinner.

He popped the plate of quiche and steamed vegetable into the microwave and waited for it to heat up.

"Master! Is that quiche?"

The blue little animal came floating into the kitchen. Luke laughed and stroked his pet's head.

"Yep! You want some?"

"Yaaay~!"

Mieu floated around the dinner table in obvious delight. Unfortunately, he was clumsy and knocked over the vase of roses that had been Mr. Fabre's gift to Mrs. Fabre. The water splashed onto the ground followed by the glass vase which shattered into pieces.

"Mieu!"

"I'm sorry…"

Luke got onto his knees and began gathering the shards into a pile. He sent Mieu off to get paper towels. As he picked up the glass, a blinding flash of pain stabbed him in the head. He screamed and his hands slipped in the water. His whole upper body pitched forward into the mess, slicing into his arms and cutting a line on his left cheekbone. He had narrowly avoided losing an eye.

"Master!"

"Argh! I-I'm fine Mieu. It's over," he painfully ground out as he got up. The blood dripped down his cheek warmly, and he noticed a piece or two of glass in his arms.

"Can you get the first-aid kit?"

Mieu nodded tearfully and zoomed off.

"Don't you dare cry!" Luke shouted.

He watched as the blood from his wounds mixed with the rose water to turn an ugly shade of yellow.

**Whew! I'm finally starting on this!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here comes chapter two! Working on 3 fanfictions at the same time is hard to manage…**

Asch was usually a fairly pragmatic person. He could be pretty stupid sometimes, but that was only when he couldn't think right or when he was really pissed off. So, when his mom asked why he didn't have an umbrella, he immediately gave a story he had thought of beforehand. He wove in some truth and made up the rest.

He had forgotten his umbrella at school, simple as that. He could go pick it up on Monday. Avoid any questions about friends or students, and make an extremely believable excuse. That and a poker face was all you needed to fib your way through the little things in life. He figured his mom would be pretty happy about Luke, but he was going to hold up his own end of the deal. That tired expression Luke had as he asked Asch to keep this a secret from their families managed to win him over into keeping the deal. Personally, he thought that the idea of keeping everything secret from their families while still telling their friends was ridiculous. It was horribly impractical for one. How could you expect friends to keep quiet like that? That was like a ticking a time-bomb.

In any case, it seemed that Luke had some sort of unwavering faith in his friends. He was interested in what kind of people they were. For the first time in a while, he was going to eat with some other people for lunch during school. The drama poster wasn't that hard to find. It took up almost an entire wall and Asch internally winced at the thought of eating under such a large and showy sign. To his relief, they were on the other side of the hallway facing the thing. Luke noticed him from the end of the hallway and started waving him over. Asch hurried over in an effort to get the idiot to stop gesturing about.

He stopped dead in his tracks once he saw someone who was sitting in the group.

It couldn't be.

How often does one stumble upon long lost friends like that? Her beautiful golden hair, her emerald eyes- it was definitely her. Yet still, how did the odds keep piling up in his favor? First Luke, and now her. The words "one in a million" flashed through his head.

"Natalia…"

"Asch?!"

Luke's eyes flitted between the two of them.

"You guys know each other?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

Asch slowly nestled into a spot the others made for him by Luke. He opened his mouth a few times, and then finally got some words to properly form.

"I… I didn't think I'd see you again," he muttered.

"I was looking for you the entire time! I seriously thought for a while when I was younger that you were Luke!"

Asch's jaw slipped and he roughly pulled Luke over by the shoulders.

"How the hell did you confuse this idiot for me?!"

"You're the nicest brother ever, aren't you?" Luke quipped sarcastically.

"Because he looks like you!"

"For Lorelei's sake," Asch groaned, "our hair! Look at our hair! This weirdo's hair is lighter than mine! It's almost orange you could say!"

"It was years ago! Can you blame me?"

Asch scowled.

"I said I was sorry!"

For some reason, Luke felt a lot like a third wheel. He had stared with the others at the bizarre conversation that started, until Ion, the sensible one of the bunch spoke up.

"You two seem to know each other very well. Where did you meet Natalia, Asch?"

Asch let go of Luke and settled into a more comfortable seating position.

"I was in a few foster homes before I got adopted. I met Natalia in school during one of them. I had to leave after a while though."

Natalia sighed.

"I wished you could've told me when you were going to leave."

"That was my fault."

"I see. Oh, where are my manners? Everyone, we need to introduce ourselves. I'm Ion, a freshman."

"I'm Anise! Nice to meet you~! I'm a freshman, same as Ion!"

Asch immediately knew that this preppy girl was going to annoy him, in terms of sheer energy.

"Haha, trying to be cute, Anise?"

"Shut up Guy!" Anise retorted, clamping her hands around Guy's arms. Asch watched quietly as Guy screamed and flailed around wildly in an attempt to get Anise off.

"What's his problem?"

Luke chuckled and he waved off the matter.

"Oh, that's just Guy. He's a junior with some gynophobia," Luke explained. Asch looked at Luke, than back to Guy. He didn't really have much to say to the poor junior.

"He manages to get a lot of girls though," Luke added.

"That's surprising," Asch replied.

"I suppose it's my turn now. I'm a sophomore, same as Luke and Natalia. The name's Mystearica, but most don't bother with that and just call me Tear."

"Mystearica's a mouthful, that's for sure," Luke said.

Tear sighed and turned away with some disdain. Luke's grin went askew, and he began to focus more on his lunch. Asch could practically see the affection sprouting from the two.

"So, let me get this straight: there's Tear, Ion, Anise, Guy, Natalia, Luke, and me, right?"

"Yes, that should be everyone," Ion concluded.

Well, as far as he could tell, Luke had some pretty strange friends. They were all quite talkative as well. Soon, he was wrapped up in at least four different conversations in topics ranging from fontech to clothes. He tried his best to keep up, and managed to somehow stay on topic for each discussion. Despite the obvious irritation that came from having multiple talks at once, it was also strangely… enjoyable. He had almost forgotten how comforting and fun it was being around other people. It seemed to Asch that Luke was a person who thrived off of being around others. If he ever had his friends taken from him, he would probably break down or something. This entire time Luke had mostly been listening in to all the different conversations, when all of a sudden he let out a yell. Everyone immediately shut up and turned to him.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Guy asked.

"Fonons homework! I completely forgot about it!" he wailed and pawed through his backpack before pulling out a packet of worksheets.

"This entire thing is due next period!"

"Hurry up and start it then!" Tear scolded.

Luke pulled out a pencil and began hurriedly filling out blanks. He worked with the desperation of a person with detentions and Saturday school looming over his head, and the fear was obvious to everyone, even Asch.

"Wha-! Asch, which fonon-"

"Sound!"

"Thanks! Fi-"

"Those are fonic artes," he answered.

After some time, a pattern would appear. Luke would blurt out some question, and before he was even done, Asch would frantically answer him to the best of his knowledge.

"That's an interesting skill there," Ion commented.

"No! It's creepy!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Luke covered his mouth, than looked at Asch, who was staring at him.

"Y'know, maybe we could put up those two as a street-show! Come and see the mysterious mental link these two twins have!" Anise elaborated gleefully.

"No way. That aside, Luke; your fonons grade must be horrible."

"Eh, it's passing."

"You just flunked your last quiz," Guy said.

"Shut up."

Natalia clasped her hands together. The wicked gleam in her eyes immediately put Asch on his guard.

"I have a wonderful idea! Asch, why don't you help Luke study? You two can get to know each other better while improving Luke's grade!"

"Hmm, that does sound good," Ion said thoughtfully. Anise voiced her approval, and then Guy joined in…

Before he knew it, Asch was swamped in another large conversation, though this time centered on one subject: tutoring Luke.

"Jeez, I've known you all for less than half an hour, and you're already peer-pressuring me to tutor my long lost twin brother!"

His eyes drifted over to Luke, and realized something wasn't quite right.

"Luke, I remember finishing that assignment from Mr. Curtiss."

Luke's hand stopped scribbling furiously.

"Huh? You also have Mr. Curtiss as a teacher?" The realization also slowly dawned on him. When the full picture appeared in his mind, his mouth opened wordlessly for a few seconds.

"Mr. Curtiss knew the entire time?"

Asch nodded. The others were stunned.

"But, why would he…" Anise mumbled, trailing off.

"Anise, you're on pretty good terms with Mr. Curtiss, right?" Guy asked.

Anise nodded.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, Jade's just sorta… like that."

"You call your teacher by his first name?" Asch said, puzzled.

"Well, I'm pretty good friends with him."

Asch didn't quite know what to say.

"Don't worry, we were all like that," Tear reassured, "but those two really are good friends."

Such odd people…

An uncomfortable silence descended on them all.

"Er, Asch! Here's your umbrella!" Luke exclaimed, handing it over.

Asch nodded and accepted it. As he took it from Luke, the sleeve of Luke's sweater slipped down and Asch could see a thick bandage. He dropped the umbrella and grabbed Luke's wrist instead.

"How did this happen?"

"Ow! Easy on the cuts!"

Asch finally noticed the bandage on Luke's face as well. He had been so caught up in the flurry of activity here that he missed it. His constant glare seemed to be intensified, and Luke squirmed under the pressure. He felt like one of Mr. Curtiss' specimens under a microscope.

"C'mon, don't look at me like that," Luke whined, "Mieu knocked over a vase, and as I was cleaning it up, by hands slipped in the water."

Luke could tell Asch didn't buy a word of it.

"I'm telling the truth!"

Asch kept up that heavy stare, and then seemed to give Luke the benefit of doubt.

"… Who's Mieu?"

He could've sworn he heard a squeak from Tear, but her face was rather well composed.

"It's just a Cheagle that Luke found when he was younger," Guy explained.

Asch's eyes widened.

"Cheagles? Those things cost a fortune! They're amazing pets, but ridiculously hard to breed! You found one?"

Luke nodded. "He's also got this weird ring he calls a Sorcerer's Ring. It actually lets him talk!"

Asch's jaw went slack. Guy laughed.

"Luke finds the strangest stuff, that's for sure! I looked over the ring to see if it was fontech, but it seems to be all fonic artes, so I wasn't of much help."

"I see."

His perception of Luke was getting rapidly distorted with all the information he was getting. Eventually, the bell rang and everyone hurried to their respective classes. Asch managed to find a time to bring Luke to his house so that they could study. He went to his classes feeling much better than before lunch, but a twinge of worry for Luke stayed like a barb in his thoughts. He just found it almost impossible that a person could just slip in water like that.

-o-o-o-

Luke walked with slowly with Asch home. The rain hadn't let up for a week now, and Luke kept the hood of his raincoat up as Asch walked under his umbrella. Luke almost wished that he could share an umbrella with Asch again, but then he realized that that would be rather awkward. They weren't exactly friends, and were brothers in blood only. The stereotypical suburban feel of the neighborhood imprinted itself into Luke's mind. When they got to Asch's house, Luke could appreciate the warm, homely feeling of the house, despite living in a mansion.

"The place is kind of messy, so prepare."

Asch opened the door, and Luke was greeted with an unfamiliar sight. There were magazines on the table, and books or stationary on the floor in places. A lone game controller and console sat under the TV stand. From what he could see in the kitchen, there was cutlery and plates drying on a rack, and a mug or two from breakfast on the table. Luke realized why this was so unfamiliar. It was the look of a house that was very personal and frequently lived in. Asch couldn't help but comment on Luke's bewildered expression.

"What? Never been in a house before?"

Luke blushed and shook his head.

"S-sorry! I was just looking at your home. It's really… cozy."

"Don't know if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult," he said snidely and he breezed into the living room. "Just put your stuff here," he said, slapping a palm on the coffee table. Luke did as ordered and took out all his stuff before having fonons information drilled mercilessly into his brain. Asch was helping him with homework while also explaining the importance of reading the textbook and taking notes in class. Then he forced Luke to start memorizing key details about fonons. After about an hour of this torture, Asch could see a sort of paleness creeping up Luke's usually bright complexion.

"Let's take a break. I'm going to get us something to eat."

Luke nodded as Asch went into the kitchen. Right when Asch was out of sight, he grabbed his head and hunched down. He could barely suppress the urge to cry out and his head seemed to throb with every pulse. He shouldn't have stopped keeping up a façade even after Asch left. He had given himself over to the pain like that. A voice cut through the agony, and it subsided for a moment. He straightened his spine and said something he couldn't remember before falling to the ground in pain again. This time, his forehead clipped the edge of the table as he fell. He really, _really _hoped there weren't any bloodstains on Asch's carpet.

When the migraine had finally (mostly) gone away, and Luke could think clearly again, he opened his eyes and moaned at the influx of light.

"What the hell was that?"

"Don't talk so loudly," Luke mumbled and pulled the blanket over his head. The sound of rain hitting the roof with staccato beats attacked his currently sensitive ears. Wait, why was there a blanket? He realized he was also on the couch as well. Slowly, he pulled the blanket down. His skin felt heavy with dried sweat. A sizable amount of gauze was taped to his forehead, and he vaguely wondered if there was going to be a scar. Well, his bangs would cover it anyway.

"Did I get any blood onto the carpet?"

"Don't worry about the damn carpet. If you're really that curious, I cleaned up all of the blood. We were lucky the stain didn't set."

Luke realized there was softer tone to Asch's voice now. Crap, he must've really freaked him out. He mumbled some incoherent words and quickly stood up. A wave of dizziness overcame him and his knees buckled. Asch caught him, and set him back down on the sofa.

"I'll ask again. _What the hell was that?_"

Luke shifted onto his back and sighed. It was time for the long and almost inevitable conversation that had come with almost each friend he had ever made. It was like some kind of messed up package deal. He always wished stuff like this didn't happen. Lately, the headaches had been occurring more frequently though. "You know that I found Mieu, right?"

Asch was silent as he nodded.

"He was in the middle of the street, starving to death. I was eight. I forgot about looking at both sides of the road and rushed in. I grabbed Mieu and almost made it back to the sidewalk when BAM! This car comes out of nowhere. A side mirror clipped me and I hit my head on the curb. Mieu was okay, but I lost all of my memories. I'm a super rare case. They never found out the guy who did it."

Asch slowly processed all the information.

"Wait, that means that in seven years, you completely caught up to your grade level?! That's crazy!"

Luke gave a sheepish look that was intertwined with disbelief. Luke told Asch about his amnesia, and he was more interested in his studies?

"Lots and lots of tutors, plus tons of studying. I don't' know much else besides book work though."

Asch frowned.

"Why does your fonons grade suck so much then?"

"Can't you cut me a break?!" Luke complained.

"Heh, so you're seven years old and a sophomore in high school. Who cares? Right now, you need to get your grades up and do well in school so that you can go into a good college."

"You sound like my parents. I don't even know what I want to be when I grow up!"

"Go to a good college, and you can be whatever the hell you want when you finally decide. So get up and go back to work. You look like you've recovered anyway, and you don't seem to have a concussion either."

Luke pouted.

"So serious."

"Deal with it."

Luke groaned and then began whining to no tomorrow about the work. After a good half hour, Asch felt like shooting himself.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Shut. Up."

To Asch's surprise, Luke actually listened and only grumbled as Asch began forcing him to do his homework without the book.

Eventually, Asch more or less kicked Luke out of the house. Luke gave a few weak questions that Asch hurriedly answered with a "Dammit! Mom's almost home!"

As Luke disappeared from Asch's view, his mind drifted to what Luke had said as he fell to the ground.

"_I'm sorry."_

"Why're you apologizing for something like that?!" he muttered in annoyance.

**Yay! Done with this chapter!**


End file.
